Senior officials at the foreign ministry said Washington was urged to play its role to defuse Pak-Afghan tension during the recent contacts.

“We know the US has a stake in Afghanistan. They [the US] want peace between us but India is trying to disrupt these efforts. We have asked them to take care of India if they can. New Delhi is obviously pulling their [Afghanistan’s] strings,” an official, who remains in contact with Washington, told The Nation.

He said the US was concerned over the recent firing incident along the Chaman border and appreciated Pakistan’s restraint.

“We told them the nation was furious over the firing from the Afghan side, which left several dead. We obviously do not want the situation to get out of hands,” the official added.

Another official at the foreign ministry said that the US had assured Pakistan of using its influence to stop Afghanistan from aggravating the situation.

“They understand our point of view. We have tried to convince them that the Pakistani officials were conducting census within their own territory. We have never violated any country’s borders, be it Afghanistan or India,” he maintained.

Over the weekend, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that border between the two countries was clearly demarcated and Pakistani teams were conducting the census drive in their own area.